


Colder Weather

by H_H_Fletcher



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Humor, Romance, Sports
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-08-18 21:55:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8177471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H_H_Fletcher/pseuds/H_H_Fletcher
Summary: Momentum is a cruel mistress; she can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake, and when Lexa is sent flying over her mountain bike’s handlebar her career suddenly hangs by a thread. Can steely determination and the help of Aspen’s best sports medicine team turn her fate around and get her ready in time for the last qualifiers for the Winter Olympics?





	1. Collide

**Note:** This is my first ever Clexa fic, and my first time posting on this board. I’m somewhat new to this fandom – only started watching during season 3, so I’m currently playing catch up on you guys’ amazing fics!

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own The 100, the characters or any song that might feature in my story. References to movies, books, and pop culture in general are not meant to violate any copyrights, only to entertain.

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**Chapter 1 – Collide**

_When you find yourself lying in the dirt, your face contorted with pain, and your dreams slowly slipping through your fingers – do you have it in you to get back up? Do you have it in you to look within yourself and decide to stand up, dust off the dirt and try again? Do you have it in you to keep pushing forward when your legs are shaking, sweat is dripping down your brow and your lungs are burning? Do you have the integrity to ignore the legion of voices in your head that are shouting their unanimous permission for you to go back home and turn your back on everything you have worked so hard for for so long? Do you have it in you to ignore your aching muscles that are begging you to listen to them, and instead focus on that lone voice in your heart that encourages you to not give up? Do you have the strength to keep reaching for your dreams no matter how distant they seem? And when you get to the point where you think you can’t take it any longer – where do you go from there? How far are you willing to go to protect your dream? Do you have it in you to get up and not give up? What are you going to do? The choice is yours._

The bed was uncomfortable and her head was pounding. The dull ache crept from the back of her skull into her forehead, making it hard to sleep, and she found herself restlessly shifting to try and find a comfortable position. Two days – that’s how long it had been since she last slept in her own bed. Two days running on coffee and cafeteria food. When she was a resident there had been weeks where she hadn’t left the hospital, always busy doing research or assisting an attending in surgery. Those years had seemed never-ending, and she had longed for the day where she would become an attending and her workload would be more manageable. So far her experience had been the exact opposite; she was just as busy and her responsibilities had doubled.

Her arm was slung across her face, shielding her eyes from the sunlight streaming through the blinds. She was helpless to stop the yawn that escaped her lips, and it would be a lie to say that her body wasn’t begging for sleep. One more hour and she would get to go home, one more hour and it would finally be noon, and she would somehow find it within herself to change out of her scrubs and make it across town to her own apartment where her bed was waiting for her. The clock was ticking away and she could hear it clearly in the silent on-call room, each tick a strike closer to freedom.

When the door was forcefully opened, no warning knock, her body jumped involuntarily, and she had to physically stop herself from groaning out loud. The noises from the hallway were clearer than they had been seconds before, and this could only mean one thing. She heard the flick of the switch, before she felt the light on her face, and she silently cursed whoever it was that had dared interrupt what was supposed to have been a well-deserved nap.

“Get up, Griffin. We need you.” She recognized Octavia’s voice, and she lifted her arm just enough to get a peek at the brunette standing in the doorway. If possible she looked just as tired as Clarke felt. Clarke’s face was burning with exhaustion, and she placed both hands over her eyes, more effectively blocking the sharp light.

“No,” Clarke said, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, a yawn slipping past her lips once again. If there were even the smallest chance that she could stay where she was until it was time to go home, she wouldn’t come easy. “Go get Marcus.”

“He’s still in surgery,” Octavia said, and moved over to where the blonde was lying. She grabbed her hand and pulled her into a sitting position, offering her a fresh cup of coffee. “Drink this and let’s go. The helicopter is fifteen minutes out…”

“Octavia,” Clark sighed, interrupting her friend, before taking a sip of the coffee in her hands, “there must be someone else who can take this one. I haven’t slept in more than twenty-four hours, and I’m almost off for the weekend, please don’t pull me into this.”

“It’s Lincoln,” Octavia said, her voice suddenly laced with worry. A blush raced across her cheeks, and she cast her eyes downwards in embarrassment. Clarke’s tired, half-closed eyes studied her best friend in confusion. “There was a mountain bike accident near Pearl Pass, and…”

“Lincoln?” Clarke questioned. She was too tired for this, but the worry in her friend’s voice had caught her attention. “Who the heck is Lincoln?”

“He’s…umm…. he’s…you know…” Octavia trailed off, and something dawned on Clarke. Octavia had been spending less and less time at their apartment over the summer, and Clarke could have sworn that more than once she’d heard someone leave their apartment at ungodly hours in the morning, but whenever she had gotten up a few hours later, Octavia would always be sitting on the couch flipping through the TV channels.

“Fine,” Clarke gave and stood up. She didn’t really need an explanation anyway, not in this very moment at least. She took a big sip of her coffee, eyeing the other doctor who was still looking more than a little uncomfortable, before she said teasingly, “can’t believe the first time I’m meeting your boyfriend is when he lands himself in our E.R. What kind of first impression is that to make on your best friend?”

Octavia laughed tiredly, shaking her head slowly, before reaching up to fix her ponytail. Clarke couldn’t help but notice the tiny smile that was playing on Octavia’s lips, though - at least a little bit of weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“It’s not Lincoln.” Octavia placed her hand on the back of Clarke’s upper arm and led her out of the on-call room, and towards the elevator. “It’s his sister.”

At this Clarke said nothing, she only gave her friend a raised eyebrow and a sideways glance before they stepped into the elevator. They rode it in silence to the roof of the hospital where the helipad was, and when they opened the door both Echo and Harper were already out there waiting, looking towards the sky for the first sign of the incoming helicopter.

“Four minutes out,” said Harper, never taking her eyes off the sky, as Clarke and Octavia fell into line, all four women making sure to keep a safe distance from the landing area. Clarke nodded, yawning silently, before taking one last sip of her coffee. The minutes felt like hours, and the sun baking down did nothing for the tired surgeon’s lingering headache, but as soon as the helicopter appeared on the sky Clarke could feel that rush of adrenaline shooting through her body, setting every nerve ending on fire.

The strong gusts of wind as the helicopter landed forced the women to shield their faces, but as soon as the doors to the to helicopter slid open and the first paramedic jumped out, they all jogged towards him. Clarke recognized Jasper and Monty, but she didn’t know who the tall guy that followed behind them was.

“What do we have?” Clarke called out, looking at Jasper as he and Monty carefully rolled the gurney out of the helicopter, and lowered its wheels.

“Alexandria Woods, female, twenty-nine, dislocated left shoulder and possible left wrist fracture,” Jasper rattled off, before handing Clarke the chart in his hands. She let her eyes run down the list to quickly get a better overview of what they were dealing with before she turned to the patient.

“Alright, Miss. Woods, I’m doctor Griffin, let’s get you inside so we can take a better look at you, shall we?” Clarke asked and placed a reassuring hand on the shoulder that was unscathed, as she and Echo started rolling the gurney back towards the building. Situations like these were routine, but seeing the woman’s green eyes brimming with tears tugged at her heart. It was clear that she was in a lot of pain, and Clarke only had to take one look at her shoulder to know that she had to be in a lot more pain that she was letting on.

Clarke shifted her gaze from her patient to Harper. “Let’s get an x-ray right away.” Harper nodded in agreement.

The woman reached for her oxygen mask, but Clarke stopped her hand, and clutched it tightly in her own. “Hey, no, you need to leave that on for now. We’ll get you something for the pain as soon as possible, just hang in there for a few more minutes, okay?”

Her eyes looked pleadingly at Clarke, and Clarke could feel her try to fight Clarke’s hold on her hand, but Clarke only tightened her grip on her patient’s hand. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering her body, and her chest rose and fell at an alarming rate. She had various cuts and bruises covering the left side of her body, where blood had been mixed with dirt as it had run down her arms and legs. Clarke looked back and stole a glance at the man standing next to Octavia. Her friend had a hand placed reassuringly on the small of his back. He looked distressed, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he had to be Lincoln.

It wasn’t until Clarke walked into her patient’s room with her x-rays in hand twenty minutes later that she finally let out a big breath that she didn’t even know she had been holding.

  
Harper and Echo had wheeled her down into a private examination room after she had her x-rays taken and had given her something to take the edge of the pain, while Clarke studied them. There was a small hairline fracture in her left wrist, but there was no damage to the bones in her shoulder area, making the procedure a simple reduction much to Clarke’s relief. When Jasper and Monty had wheeled her out of the helicopter her first thought had been that the likelihood of an open reduction was a real threat.

“So?” Octavia questioned, as Clarke hung up the slides for all of them to see. “How bad is it?”

“Looks like you got lucky, Miss Woods,” Clarke said, and turned around to face the woman whose eyebrows now rose slightly. Clearly she didn’t agree with that statement. Clarke didn’t know why but there was something eerily familiar about those green eyes that were now starring directly into her blue ones. Something in the back of her mind kept telling her that she should know who this girl was, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember why.

“Do you need my help with the reduction?” Octavia asked. She had walked over next to Clarke and had silently studied the x-rays, while Clarke had been lost in thought.

“Why don’t you take lover boy over there out and get him a cup of coffee, and maybe find him a set of scrubs he can change into,” Clarke suggested. The man standing in the corner of the room was every bit as dirty and sweaty as his sister was, only difference was that the blood on him wasn’t his own. As much as he had tried to school his features when he realized that Clarke knew who he was he hadn’t succeeded, and Clarke smirked. She watched as he walked over and placed a kiss on his sister’s forehead, mumbling something against her skin, before Octavia took his hand and led him out of the room.

“Looks like my roommate and your brother are kind of a thing, huh?” Clarke said, walking over to stand next to the woman’s gurney, lowering the bar on her side of it. She carefully took a hold on the woman’s injured arm and maneuvered it into position.

“Have you tried this before, Miss Woods?” Clarke asked, pausing her movements.

This time Clarke wasn’t fast enough and the woman lowered her oxygen mask, before she could stop her. “It’s Lexa,” she rasped out, and gave Clarke a tired look, eyes foggy from having been in pain for so long, and from the medicine coursing through her veins.

Clarke smiled, and corrected herself. “Have you tried this before, Lexa?” Clarke asked again, as she adjusted the mask and placed it back over Lexa’s mouth and nose. Lexa shook her head and closed her eyes, as she let her body relax back into the gurney as much as possible.

“This might hurt like a son of a bitch, so why don’t you hold onto Harper’s hand and just squeeze as tightly as you can if you need to, okay?” Clarke encouraged, as she tightened her grip on Lexa’s arm. Harper’s hand found Lexa’s and the nurse gave Clarke a subtle nod, before Clarke started rotating Lexa’s arm, trying to manipulate it back into place. It wasn’t long before Clarke felt that magical pop and she could visibly see Lexa’s body relaxing as the brunette let out a big breath.

“Thank you.” The mask muffled the words, but Clarke heard them anyway, and she gave Lexa a smile in return.

“Do you want me to take her back up to get a new set of x-rays done, Dr. Griffin?” Harper asked, as she slowly let go of Lexa’s hand. Clarke almost chuckled when she noticed Harper clenching and unclenching her hand a few times, grimacing as she did so. Apparently, Clarke wasn’t the only one who was amused, however. Echo who had been standing at the head of Lexa’s gurney didn’t even attempt to hide her smile.

  
“Alright,” Clarke agreed, stealing a glance at Lexa who looked like she was almost asleep, exhaustion having taken over her body, but as one eye slowly opened, and then another, Clarke knew that she had been listening, and was paying attention to their conservation, so Clarke reached out and picked a grass straw from Lexa’s hair, making all four women chuckle, before she said, “Echo and Harper here are going to take you back up to get a new set of x-rays done, okay?”

“Okay,” Lexa agreed, an exhausted smile on her lips as her gaze shifted from Clarke’s to Harper’s. “Sorry about your hand.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Harper said, reassuringly. Clarke wasn’t sure how okay the nurse thought it was just a few minutes ago, but when Harper added, “it’s not every day that you have your hand crushed by Aspen royalty,” she could see a blush race across the nurse’s cheeks, and Clarke shot Echo a questioning look.

The other nurse simply shrugged and reached over to pull the bar on Clarke’s side back up, before she and Harper started wheeling Lexa out of the room. Clarke’s voice stopped them just as they were about to close the door. “Have her taken back down here as soon as they x-rays are done, and have Dr. Hudson send them to me directly, please. I’ll make sure she gets a sling and a cast on myself.”

“Dr. Griffin, your shift is over,” Echo said, her head motioning towards the clock hanging on the wall behind Clarke, and sure enough her shift had ended ten minutes ago. “I’m sure Dr. Kane can take over. He should be out of surgery by now.”

“No, that’s okay,” Clarke said, and the words came out a little more insistently than she had intended, so she cleared her throat and said in much softer tone, “I’ll finish this one and head home for the day. Just bring her back down here.”

“If you’re sure,” Harper said, shooting Clarke a knowing look, and Clarke had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

The door closed behind Harper and Echo with a soft thud, and the room felt strangely silent, as Clarke was the only one left. Clarke brought both her hands up to massage her temples, willing her headache to go away. The dull thumps in her temple had been getting stronger and she knew that she should probably have let Echo go get Marcus and have him finish up Lexa’s case, but before she’d had a chance to think, her mouth had opened and she’d offered to stay.

Her teeth were gently biting into her bottom lip, tension radiating from her body. She tried to convince herself that she was only staying because Lexa was Lincoln’s sister and Lincoln was obviously important to Octavia in some way, and if he was important to her then surely his sister was important to her, too, which meant that ultimately she was important to Clarke. Clarke’s head thumped harder as she continued to reason with herself, clearly not happy with having to think so hard. What gnawed at Clarke the most, however, had more to do with the green eyes she kept seeing behind her closed eyelids - beautiful, deep, forest green eyes that had been staring at her for almost an hour.

She tried to shake the thought of Lexa’s eyes as she busied herself with tidying up the room, clearing a few trays, as she waited for Lexa’s x-rays to come through. It didn’t take long; though, and when she opened the files she was relieved to see that the reduction had been successful. She took a few minutes to study the hairline fracture in her wrist, and it was obvious from looking at them that this wasn’t Lexa’s first time breaking something. The x-ray told the story of quite a few previous fractures, making Clarke’s brow furrow. Wrist fractures weren’t horrible uncommon, but that many of them definitely were.

A knock on the door pulled Clarke from her thoughts and she turned to see Octavia and Lincoln entering the room. He looked much better, tired, but better.

“Where’s Lexa?” Octavia questioned, her hand slipping into Lincoln’s.

“I sent her up to get a second set of x-rays done, but she should be back any minute,” Clarke answered, offering the couple a reassuring smile.

“How’s she doing?” It was the first time Lincoln had said anything directly too her, and Clarke could tell that he seemed nervous. She wasn’t sure if the nerves had anything to do with her, or if he was simply just worried about his sister. It was probably a bit of both, Clarke finally settled on.

“Given the circumstance she’s doing well,” Clarke said honestly. “She’s in for a few months of physical therapy, and doctor’s visits, but I don’t foresee any long-term damage as long as she takes it easy, and does as she’s told.”

Lincoln hung his head, his free hand coming up to massage the back of his neck, fingers digging into the tense muscles he found there. Clarke noticed Octavia giving his hand a squeeze obviously trying to comfort him. It took a few seconds before he looked back at Clarke and asked, ”Have you told her that yet?”

“No.” There was something that wasn’t quite right. Clarke could have cut the tension in the room with a knife, and she was getting more confused by the second. Even Octavia looked slightly troubled by the answer, and while orthopedics wasn’t Octavia’s specialty she should know better than most that Lexa had gotten off relatively lightly.

“She’s going to freak,” Lincoln mumbled, giving Octavia a sideways glance, and she nodded her head in agreement. “She doesn’t have a few months.”

Clarke didn’t mean to laugh, but she did anyway. When Octavia and Lincoln’s eyes shot to her, she simply shook her head, and said, “She doesn’t have much of a choice.”

“I knew today was a bad idea,” Lincoln sighed dejectedly, letting go of Octavia’s hand to go sit down on one of the stools. Octavia was quick to follow and she squatted down in front of him, hands coming to rest on his forearms. “I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to go mountain biking, but she was so damn persistent and she’s my little sister and she rarely goes out and does anything ‘just because’ and…well…shit”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Octavia reassured him, trying to gently pry his head out of his hands. “What happened was an accident, and you told her to slow down more than once, but she didn’t listen…”

“She never listens,” Lincoln interrupted grumblingly, “she never fucking listens that girl.”

“Right,” Octavia sighed, turning to face Clarke. Clarke could see the desperation on her best friend’s face, but she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know Lincoln and so she didn’t know what to say to make the situation better. Hell, she didn’t even understand what the big deal was. Lexa was hurt, but she wasn’t dead. A few months of taking it easy and listening to her physical therapist and she’d be back to normal.

“Would someone care to explain to me…her doctor,” Clarke pointed a finger at her own chest “what is going on here? Why doesn’t she have a few months?”

Lincoln looked up from his hands, and just as he opened his mouth to offer what Clarke assumed was going to be an explanation the door to the examination room was pushed open, and the three people already in the room turned to look at Echo and Harper as they wheeled Lexa back in.

“Hey,” Lexa said when she noticed her brother in the corner of the room, an exhausted smile forming on her lips. Her voice sounded tired, but it was clear that she was relieved to see him. Her smiled faltered slightly when she noticed the worried expression on his face. The head of her gurney had been raised and she was almost sitting up. Clarke noticed that she was favoring her right shoulder, trying to keep the pressure off her left one, but that was to be expected – she had to still be in quite a bit of pain.

“There’s dirt on your face.” Was all Lincoln said as he studied his sister, and she smiled again – it reached her eyes this time.

“It’s this new organic mineral foundation I’m trying,” Lexa joked, and earned herself an eye roll from her brother. Her right hand came up to the side of her nose and she gently brushed some of the dirt off her face, before adding. “I’m not really sure this is my tone, though. Think I might have gone a color too dark. What do you think?”

“I think you’re an idiot,” Lincoln answered, standing up and walking over to his sister’s side. “What the hell were you thinking, Lexa?”

Clarke noticed that both Echo and Harper were looking at the ground. She could almost hear their silent prayers, both of them clearly wishing to be anywhere but in this room. Harper was the only one who stole an occasional glance at Lexa, a worried expression on her face each time she did so.

“Lincoln.” She heard Lexa sigh, and Clarke’s focus was once again back on the girl who currently had everyone in this roomed worried it seemed.

“I’m serious, Lexa. That was really fucking stupid. What were you thinking? You could have taken a tumble down some mountain side and you could have been…you could have been…” The last word hung in the air, and both Lexa and Lincoln swallowed nervously.

“I’m fine,” Lexa said. Clarke didn’t know if Lexa was trying to convince herself or Lincoln.

“No, you’re not,” Lincoln objected. He looked at Clarke quickly, and Clarke decided it was time to step in. There were too many people in this room, and she really wanted to get Lexa cleaned up, so she could get a cast and a sling on her. “You know wha..”

“Alright,” Clarke interjected, stepping over to the door, opening it with a determined look on her face, “everyone out. Octavia and Lincoln I’ll call you back in when we’re finished here, but for now I’d appreciate a little room to do my job.”

Lincoln looked like he was about to protest, but Octavia was quick to get him off his stool and out of the door. Echo and Harper didn’t have to be told twice and had stumbled through the door before she’d even finished her last sentence. As Octavia and Lincoln passed her at the door Octavia mouthed a ‘thank you’ at Clarke who nodded in return. There was no reason for anyone to get worked up over anything while Lexa was still groggy from the whole ordeal. The poor girl had to be beyond tired.

When she closed the door behind them and turned back around to face Lexa she was faced with a curious set of green eyes studying her intently. Clarke almost blushed under Lexa’s examining eyes, but she didn’t look away from her. She was becoming more and more sure that she was supposed to know who this girl was. There was something so familiar about her. It wasn’t until Lexa cleared her throat that Clarke finally moved towards her.

“Let’s get you fixed up,” Clarke said, taking a stool and rolling it so she could sit next to Lexa - the stool putting them at the same eyelevel. Lexa gave Clarke a smile and nod, but said nothing as her eyes continued to examine Clarke. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but Clarke was wondering what had the brunette so lost in thought. But then again, maybe she was just really tired and didn’t feel like talking.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke said when Lexa bit her bottom lip, face scrunching as Clarke cleaned one of the deeper wounds on her arm. “I know it stings, so tell me if it becomes too much and we’ll take a break.”

When Lexa didn’t answer once again, Clarke stopped the movements of her hands and looked up. She wasn’t prepared for what came out of Lexa’s mouth.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“About me?” Clarke questioned, genuinely surprised. Until a few hours ago she hadn’t had the faintest idea of this girl’s existence, or her brother’s for that matter, so that Lexa knew who she was - no, scratch that - that Lexa had heard a lot about her felt oddly strange to Clarke. She could only assume that Octavia had been spending time with Lexa as well as her brother.

“Octavia,” Lexa said, as if she’s read Clarke’s mind. Clarke looked at Lexa quickly; she looked almost shy at the admission.

Clarke hummed in understanding. “And what has she been saying about me? Should I throw in a disclaimer right now and say that half of it probably isn’t true?”

There was a short silence, before Lexa spoke again. “Well… that’d be a shame.”

Clarke laughed out loud at this, and Lexa laughed too, but quickly stopped when the movement shot pain up her shoulder. Lexa was still sitting in her torn bike shorts and a sports bra that had seen better days. It was slightly damp and Echo and Harper had had to cut the left strap of it to try and take some of the pressure of Lexa’s left shoulder. Clarke couldn’t help but think that she was still a sight for sore eyes. This girl was truly naturally beautiful, and Clarke had a hard time getting past that.

“So, something tells me that I should know who you are, but for the life of me I can’t remember why,” Clarke said, biting the bullet, a blush creeping up her neck and cheeks. It felt rather embarrassing to admit that after what Lexa had just said. “What was it Harper called you? Aspen royalty?”

Lexa smirked. “I can’t be all that memorable if you don’t even know who I am.”

For a split second Clarke’s stomach bottomed out, scared that her and Lexa might have slept together in the past. She stole another glance at the brunette and convinced herself that there was no way that was the case. Clarke wasn’t much for one night stands, and she knew for sure there was no way she could have slept with someone as beautiful as Lexa and have forgotten about it.

“How about I promise to never forget again if you tell me who you are?” Clarke offered.

“You know who I am, doctor Griffin,” Lexa said teasingly, her head nodding towards the counter behind Clarke where her chart was lying open. “I’m pretty sure all my personal information is right there for you to see. You probably know me better than most already.”

“If a broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder are what make you Aspen royalty then I hate to say it, but this city has more royals than every European country combined,” Clarke snickered, never taking her eyes off Lexa’s hand that was gripped in hers, focused on cleaning the small cuts, before she put a cast on her.

“See.” Lexa shrugged. “No one special.”

Clarke shook her head. “And how does ‘no one special’ break her wrist seven times?”

Clarke didn’t have to look at Lexa to know that she was smirking.

“She falls down more times than she cares to admit,” Lexa said simply.

“Is that so?” Clarke faked surprise, but the sarcasm in her voice was thick, making Lexa chuckle. “And how does she go about that?”

“She may snowboard,” Lexa finally admitted, and that’s when it hit Clarke like a ton of bricks how she knew who this girl was - not only had she seen her face on various posters throughout town earlier that year; she’d actually gone to the Aspen X-Games where she’d seen Lexa compete in the halfpipe competition, and if she wasn’t much mistaken, she’d won that evening.

“So you’re the Lexa Woods, huh?” Clarke said, and suddenly it made a lot more sense why Lexa didn’t have months to rest. It was already late August and the snowboard season would start back up in mid November and that only gave her a little over two and a half months to get back in shape.

“I don’t know about the ‘the’ part, but I’m definitely Lexa Woods,” Lexa offered modestly, “are you the doctor Griffin?”

“You know what I mean,” Clarke said, her headache coming back tenfold. “But, no, I’m not.”

Lexa crooked her head to the side, obviously not following, so Clarke added, “the doctor Griffin would be my mom. I’m simply, doctor Griffin.”

“Simply doctor Griffin,” Lexa said, and Clarke rolled her eyes at Lexa’s teasing tone. She had said it as if she was trying the words out for the first time, seeing how they felt rolling off her tongue.

“You can call me Clarke, you know?” It came out almost as an afterthought, and it seemed to take the brunette by surprise. Clarke felt Lexa tense under her touch for just a split second, and if she hadn’t been paying extra attention to the brunette she probably wouldn’t have noticed. But when she saw the Goosebumps on Lexa’s skin, where Clarke’s fingers were working, she looked up.

“Are you cold?” Clarke asked worried.

“Umm, yeah, a little bit,” Lexa said, a blush appearing on her cheeks. She motioned towards her torn clothes, and added, “not exactly wearing much clothes here.”

Clarke stood up and went over to one of the cabinets to retrieve a blanket. She covered as much of Lexa as she could while still leaving her left arm and shoulder free so she could work.

“Thank you,” Lexa said, looking slightly more comfortable.

“No problem,” Clarke said sweetly, and gave Lexa a smile. “Pretty sure Octavia will kill me if I don’t give you the star treatment.”

Lexa smiled in return. “I like her. She seems to make Lincoln happy.”

“For how long have they been dating exactly?” Clarke asked as she started to put Lexa’s cast on. Octavia wasn’t usually one to be quiet about her love life, so the fact that she’d hid Lincoln for what seemed to be quite a while spoke volumes of her feelings for him. She was serious about him. And while Clarke was somewhat annoyed at her for not having told her sooner, she could definitely respect her decision. Keeping things low-key at the beginning could be a great way to take some of the pressure of the whole experience.

“Four months, I think,” Lexa replied, “but I’m not really sure if I’m being honest. I’ve only met Octavia twice.”

Clarke nodded, and then smirked as something occurred to her. “You do know I’ll have to give your brother the best friend speech, right?”

“And how does that go?” Lexa laughed.

“Hurt my friend and I’ll cut off etcetera etcetera,” Clarke said nonchalantly, making Lexa laugh even harder. “Might throw something in about hunting him down, and feeding certain bits of his anatomy to Colorado’s wildlife.”

“Was Octavia just as hard on your ex-girlfriend?” Lexa asked curiously, and Clarke almost dropped the scissor in her hand in surprise. How much had Octavia been sharing about her exactly? It took a few seconds for Clarke to steady her hand, but when she finally did she looked up to meet Lexa’s eyes and was met with a rather amused expression.

“Probably,” Clarke admitted, before turning the tables on Lexa. “Was Lincoln hard on your boyfriend?”

“Never had one of those,” Lexa said simply.

“You don’t have an ex-boyfriend?” Clarke raised an eyebrow at Lexa. There was no way that a girl as beautiful as Lexa had never had a boyfriend. She got that Lexa was probably a busy woman and that her job required a lot of traveling, but even Clarke had found time to date while she was at her busiest.

“I do not,” Lexa confirmed, looking more and more amused by the second.

“But you’re so…” Clarke said, but stopped herself when she realized what she was about to say. That was definitely not appropriate for this situation. Not only was Lexa Lincoln’s sister, but she was also her patient.

“I’m so what?” Lexa prodded, daring Clarke to continue. It was almost as if she’d known what Clarke was about to say.

Clarke decided a topic change was safer. “You do know you’ll have to take it easy for a while, right? No snowboarding, no falling down, no breaking or dislocating anything…just lots and lots of physical therapy.”

This seemed to catch Lexa’s attention and she narrowed her eyes dangerously, all tiredness and grogginess instantly gone. “…And how long is a while exactly? Give it to me in weeks here.”

Clarke looked at her incredulously. For a second she thought she had misheard her when Lexa said weeks, but judging by the expression on her face Clarke had most definitely not misheard her. Lexa had said weeks.

“Lexa,” Clarke sighed. She could all too well image where this conversation was about to go.

“Just tell me.” Lexa’s entire demeanor had change, and she was suddenly sitting there looking stoic and untouchable. It was like night and day compared to the girl Clarke had been talking to just five minutes earlier.

“We’re not talking weeks here, Lexa,” Clarke said. There was no point in sugar coating this.

“A month then?” Lexa tried again, almost as if she was bargaining with Clarke. As if the length of her recovery was actually up for debate. The muscles in Lexa’s jaw were working overdrive and Clarke felt tested under Lexa’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Three,” Clarke said swiftly, as if she was ripping off a Band-Aid. “Ideally four.”

Clarke had expected some sort of outburst, but it never came, and all she saw when she looked at Lexa was eyes filled with steely determination.

“I don’t have three months,” Lexa said calmly, her voice low and on edge, “let alone four.”

“I know,” Clarke said, placing a hand on top of Lexa’s, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

Lexa looked down at Clarke’s hand as if it had burned her, and she was becoming visibly tenser by the second. But when Clarke tried to pull her hand back Lexa tightened her grip on it quickly.

“Two months.” Lexa’s words were practically inaudible, but they were out there, floating around in the air between them.

“Excuse me?” Clarke said, searching Lexa’s eyes when they met hers again. They had softened somewhat.

“That’s my best offer,” Lexa negotiated. “I’ll do whatever you say, I promise. But I can’t give you more than two months. I don’t have more than two months, Clarke.”

“Lexa,” Clarke sighed. It pained Clarke to admit it, but the brunette was asking for the impossible. “This is not up for negotiation. As your doctor I’m telling you that you need to take it easy until you’re fully recovered. If you fall and hurt your shoulder again it could mean surgery, you do realize that, right? I’m not trying to rain on your parade, and I get what’s at stake here, but there’s just no way I can get you ready in two months. The pain, Lexa…”

“I don’t care about the pain,” Lexa interrupted. “I can do this.”

Clarke sighed. “You’re welcome to go get a second opinion elsewhere, but that’s my final decision.”

“Two and a half.”

This was becoming ridiculous.

“You need to talk to a physical therapist about this,” Clarke said, trying to reason with her, “that’s really who”

“Octavia said you’re the best.” There was a bite to Lexa’s words, as if she was challenging Clarke. Lexa’s eyes searched Clarke’s expectantly.

“Lexa,” Clarke sighed.

“Clarke.” Why did she have to say her name like that?

“I’ll think about it.”

They both froze at the words that left Clark’s mouth; clearly she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Clarke mentally scolded herself. There was nothing to think about; even two and a half months were a ridiculously short timeframe to work with, but the words were out there and while they weren’t a commitment they held the promise of something that was doable.

And Clarke really, really doubted that it was.

                                                                                                                             ***


	2. You're Asking For the Impossible

“You do realize that it’s your first weekend off, in like, forever, right?”

The quiet hum of the coffee shop, the customers – coming and going - had almost lured Clarke into a trance. The chime of the bell above the door, the buzz of the espresso machine, the idle chit chatter of the people milling about and the careful rustling of pages being flipped by the woman in front of her had slowly blended into a background soundtrack.

“Hmm,” Clarke hummed in confirmation, never taking her eyes off the book in front of her, instead highlighting another paragraph. Her eyes were burning, and she had lost track of time somewhere around her fourth coffee.

“Earth to Clarke.” The woman waved a hand in front of her face. “You in there?”

Clarke swatted lazily at the hand.

“Yo, Griffin.” The hand came down with a hard thump against the page she was reading, hard enough to rattle the empty cups on their table.

This time she raised her head, and lowered her glasses to the tip of her nose, looking over the rim.

“Yes, Reyes?”

“She speaks!” Raven said, throwing her arms up in mock wonder, looking around the shop. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a miracle!”

A few of the other customers and baristas glanced at them curiously. Clarke caught the eye of one of the women behind the desk - cute, blonde, about her age. Clarke had seen her around the shop a handful of times, but never gotten her name. For some reason she was never dressed like the rest of the baristas. Everyone else had on t-shirts and a forest green apron, but she was usually wearing tight jeans, a crisp, white shirt and a form-fitting blazer. Today’s blazer was grey Clarke noted absentmindedly.

Clarke offered her an apologetic smile, but the woman merely shrugged - a cautious smile playing on her lips as her eyes held Clarke’s. Clarke couldn’t help but blush at the searching look in the baristas eyes. Distractions. Pretty women were always so damn distracting.

“She’s hot,” Raven commented off-handedly, stabbing at a grape at the bottom of her almost empty fruit cup. “She’s been checking you out for the past hour.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Clarke turned her attention back to the pages in front of her, the pen in her hand tapping lightly against one of the highlighted paragraphs. She snuck a glance at Raven who was watching her intently, smirking as she chewed slowly.

Raven’s lifted eyebrow and knowing smirk made Clarke roll her eyes. Okay, so maybe the barista wasn’t exactly unattractive, but Clarke had more important things to focus on. Like, how she was going to get a certain green-eyed athlete ready for the last qualifiers for the Winter Olympics in two and a half months. The mere thought still made Clarke’s stomach uneasy. For someone who held a medical degree she was a bona fide idiot.

“What’s your point?” Clarke asked when Raven didn’t look away.

“It’s been a while…that’s all.”

“Oh, shut up.” Clarke threw the cap of one of her pens at Raven, and the brunette laughed. “It’s not like you’re getting some on the regular.”

“Hey!” Raven cried in mock offense, holding a hand to her heart. “What about that nurse last month? That was like…second base…”

“Second base?” This time it was Clarke who raised an eyebrow, looking at her friend with an “are you kidding me” look. “What is this? High school?”

“Might as well be since you’re practically a virgin again,” Raven snickered. “How long has it been? A year? Two?”

“Oh my God, _stop_!” Clarke cried, this time blushing furiously, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to her and Raven anymore. “Will you just focus on the damn journals, please?”

“Oh, you mean the journals I’m forced to read because some other hot girl batted her eyes at you?”

Clarke visibly shrunk in her chair. Raven kind of had a point. Some pretty girl had batted her eyes at her, and Clarke, like some tongue-tied, awkward teenager, had found herself offering to ride in on her white horse - scalpel and stethoscope in hand - to save the damsel in distress. Even Clarke had to admit that it hadn’t been the most professional moment in her career. But those green eyes? And the way Lexa had said her name so softly and pleadingly, inflecting the k in some new, and weirdly exciting way, had completely left her defenseless.

“ _I’ll think about it._ ” Clarke inwardly winced at she replayed the words over and over again in her mind. “ _I’ll think about it._ ” Yeah, she was well and truly an idiot.

“Look about that,” Clarke began, “I know it’s a lot to ask for, but I really appreciate you taking a look. I won’t be able to pull this off without you.”

Raven snorted. “I highly doubt you’ll be able to pull this off at all…with or without me. Two and a half months? If you’d have caught me in a good mood I’d have laughed and said ‘in what world’…”

“And now?” Clarke asked.

“Right now it’s Sunday morning and I could be at home in bed, which is just so not doing anything positive for my mood, so I’m tempted to slap you and ask why in the world you thought it’d be a good idea to even promise to take a look at it. We both know it’s not doable,” Raven argued with a shake of her head, clearly frustrated. “It’s too big of a risk, Griff. Potentially she’s putting the rest of her career on the line. If she gets hurt and finds herself under your scalpel her career could be over. I get what’s at stake here, I really do, but in my professional opinion I don’t think she should be competing anymore this year.”

“You try telling her that.”

“Not my job.” Raven leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of her coffee, before pointing to one of the pages in front of her. “This isn’t rocket science, and we both know it. It’s a relatively simple shoulder dislocation and a broken wrist, which, I assume we can both agree on, is nothing compared to what could have happened. I’ve read her file about a hundred times, and she could have just as easily torn her labrum or worse. She needs to just call it a day and take some time off.”

“And if she won’t do that?” Clarke asked tentatively, worrying her bottom lip. A voice in the back of her mind kept whispering that Lexa was going to go through with this with or without their help.

“Then that’s on her,” Raven stated firmly. “I’m not putting my name on this.”

“You’re the best, though. She needs you on her side if she’s going to pull this off.”

Raven shrugged. “Not my problem. For all I care she can get some toothless redneck from the boondocks to handle her physical therapy. I don’t know this girl. Why should I care?”

“She’s Lincoln’s sister,” Clarke tried to argue, but it seemed like her words were falling on deaf ears. Clarke knew Raven was an inch away from having made up her mind. And if she did there was no going back.

“And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”

Clarke pinched the bridge of her nose, frustration radiating from her tense muscles. She knew Raven was right. Deep down she _knew_ why Raven didn’t want to be a part of this, and she understood completely. They would be putting both their reputations on the line, and for what? A pair of green eyes, and because the girl in question’s brother just so happened to be dating their friend? It was the epitome of stupidity. Clarke was fairly sure that if someone were to look up the word ‘stupid’ in the dictionary they’d find a picture of her.

“For Octavia’s sake…”

“For _your sake_ I’m telling you not to go through with this,” Raven stopped her. “We both know Octavia wouldn’t want you risking your reputation over this - Lincoln or no. She’s not that selfish.”

“Will you just come meet her?” It was Clarke’s last shot. She didn’t know what else to say.

“Clarke,” Raven sighed, shaking her head slowly. “What good is that supposed to do? Be real here.”

“Look, there’s just…there’s just something about her, okay?” Clarke sighed, rummaging through the stack of papers in front of her. She handed one of the articles to Raven. “Just take a look at that. She’s a fighter. Everything she’s achieved, Raven? The girl’s personality screams fighter. I really think she could be worth taking a chance on.”

“You know what her journal says? _Fragile_ ,” Raven countered, but Clarke’s spirit lifted when she caught Raven’s eyes glimpsing at the article. Maybe all wasn’t lost just yet. “So many torn ligaments and broken bones.” The last words barely came out as more than a mumble as Raven started to read the article more intently, something having caught her eye.

Clarke didn’t even dare to breathe as Raven continued reading, nodding thoughtfully once or twice. For each passing second Clarke’s heart would beat a little faster, and thump a little harder against her ribcage. When Raven finally flipped the last page Clarke almost felt lightheaded.

“So?” Clarke asked, trying to get a read on Raven.

“I still think you’re only doing this because of her pretty face.” Raven slid the article back across the table, pointing to a picture of a smiling Lexa. “She’s hot.”

“Her looks have nothing to do with this,” Clarke protested, despite the fact that she knew it was a blatant lie. Those green eyes of hers most definitely had something to do with why Clarke had spent the better part of her weekend studying hundreds of different medical cases similar to Lexa’s.

Amused, Raven shook her head. “Look,” she started, “I’ll make you a deal. You set up an appointment and I’ll come meet her, but I have two conditions.”

“And they are?” Clarke questioned.

“One…you’re paying for coffee for the next month…. _month_ , “Raven emphasized, looking pointedly at Clarke.

“Done,” Clarke quickly agreed. “What else?”

“I want you to say…out loud…I, Clarke Griffin, think Lexa Woods is hot.”

Clarke snorted. “Yeah, she’s gorgeous.” Clarke couldn’t help but enjoy the surprised look on Raven’s face. Clarke grinned and rolled her eyes when Raven looked at her suspiciously, as if she was trying to figure out if Clarke had played her. “I’m not blind. All I’ve said is that her looks have nothing to do with why I’m doing this.”

“You’re lying,” Raven said, pointing her pen at Clarke. “I’ve known you long enough to tell when you’re not being honest, Griffin.”

Clarke shrugged, and reached for her coffee, while she tried to fight off the grin that was threatening to give her away.

“You’re mother would be ashamed of you.” Raven shook her head, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She almost looked impressed, though, Clarke noted. “Using your medical degree on hit on young, innocent women simply seeking your medical expertise? Who are you?”

“A, not hitting on her and b, she’s not that young,” Clarke pointed out. “I thought you’d said you’d read her file?”

“Okay, fine, “Raven relented, looking skywards for a second to keep her composure. “She’s twenty-nine, but you are going on thirty-four in case you needed reminding. That’s like…middle thirties…. that’s old, Clarke. _Painfully_ old.”

“At least I’m not the one with a grey hair.”

Raven’s hands flew up to her head, a look of panic painted vividly on her face, and Clarke laughed out loud.

“That’s not even funny, you asshole,” Raven hissed as she ducked her head and leaned towards Clarke. “Stop it. Take that back! I do not have a grey hair.”

“Vain much?” Clarke laughed, leaning across the table to take a single hair between her fingertips.

She tugged gently and laughed louder when Raven’s eyes widened and frantically searched the hair Clarke held out in front of her. When she realized it was perfectly brown she slapped Clarke’s hand away and sat back, tucking her hair behind her ears, and looked disapprovingly at Clarke who couldn’t seem to stop laughing.

“You’re such an asshole,” Raven said. “Why are we even friends?”

“Because I’m buying you coffee for the next month straight?” Clarke offered, still chuckling as she took off her glasses to put them back in their case. She was about done for the day. Her head couldn’t take reading one more sentence.

“Which you’re doing because I’m doing _you_ a favor,” Raven pointed out. “One that involves a certain brunette with green eyes that I know you’re partial to.”

“Isn’t friendship a beautiful thing?” Clarke said cheerfully.

Raven took a deep breath, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Sometimes you really try my patience, Griffin.”

“Oh, please,” Clarke snorted. “I do no such thing. I see that glimmer in your eye, Reyes. You don’t fool me. I can see that she’s piqued your interest.”

“Not as much as she’s piqued yours apparently,” Raven countered, as Clarke started packing up her bag, and downing the last of her coffee in big gulps. “Gay much, Clarke?”

“Spitting rainbows over here,” Clarke admitted casually, “but that’s really neither here nor there in this case.”

“And the fact that Lexa is one of the most famous LBGTQ athletes in America honestly has nothing to do with this? We’re really going with that story?” Raven stood up to follow Clarke out the door, looking at her friend suspiciously. Clarke avoided her eyes like the plague. She’d already admitted to the fact that Lexa was gorgeous; there was no need to admit to anything more. Raven would be like a dog with a bone if she did.

Clarke walked out the door first and held it open for Raven, who was hot on her heels, undoubtedly, still waiting for Clarke to give her an answer, but instead she took a deep breath, inhaling the wonderful crisp air.  
“Beautiful day, isn’t it,” Clarke commented, closing her eyes for a few seconds, as she let the sunlight dance across her face. The branches of the aspen trees, lining the street, swayed gently in the warm summer breeze, making the suns’ rays flicker across Clarke’s skin.

“Yeah, it is.” Raven agreed, rummaging through her bag for a pair of sunglasses. “Makes me wanna drive out to the lake.”

“We could.” Clarke said, opening her eyes. She squinted slightly, still not used to the bright light after having spent the better part of her morning in the coffee shop.

“I wish,” Raven sighed. “I promised Kyle that I’d come see him once we were done.”

“I didn’t know you two were still talking?” Clarke knew work had been crazy for the past few months, and she knew she’d bailed on her friends more than once over the summer, but she was only just starting to realize how out of the loop she really was. Octavia and Lincoln had been one wake up call, and apparently she was in for another.

“Eh.” Raven shrugged. “We’re not not talking. And he’s in town for a few days, so…”

“He’s still working in Huntsville, right?”

“Yeah,” Raven said, and Clarke couldn’t help but notice the frustration in Raven’s voice. “Sweet Home Alabama, huh?”

“Sounds complicated,” Clarke commented and offered Raven a sympathetic smile. There really wasn’t much more to say or do. Kyle and Raven had been on and off ever since he left Aspen to take a job in Huntsville earlier that year. Neither had ever pretended to be interested in doing the long-distance thing, but letting go hadn’t been as easy as the two had counted on, it seemed. Clarke knew that feeling a little too well.

Clarke felt it before she saw it, the long leash that twisted around her legs, immediately setting her off balance. She tried to steady herself by reaching out for Raven, but to no avail. The leash kept tightening around her legs even as she tried to spin her way out of the web she was being tangled in.

An extra hard tug spun her around and her front collided with something solid - something solid and something very, _very_ cold.

Clarke inhaled sharply as ice cream started dripping down the front of her t-shirt, slowly but surely making its way down her stomach. Clarke looked down in shock, her white t-shirt starting to cling to her body. She involuntarily shivered and her abs twitched when it slid into her bellybutton. _Fuck_.

“Oh my God.” Clarke’s breath caught in her throat. She knew that voice. “I’m so very sorry.”

Clarke’s head snapped up and blue eyes met green for a brief second. Lexa’s eyes were frantically looking between Clarke’s, now ruined, t-shirt and her face, while still holding half of a squashed ice cream cone in her hand. The last remnants of ice cream were running down her hand and forearm, slowly melting and dripping onto the pavement.

“Lexa,” Clarke said a little breathlessly, her body still sensitive as the cold ice cream continued to run down her front.

“Dr. Griffin,” Lexa started, her eyes widening as if she was only just realizing whom she had become entangled with. “Clarke…”

“Lexa,” Clarke breathed again.

“Logan,” Lexa said, pointing towards the large dog that were sitting happily besides them, tail wagging and tongue out, looking up at them. “He,” Lexa started, motioning towards her dog once again, causing the rest of the ice cream to fall out of the cone and onto Logan’s head, who ducked and tried to pull back, making the two women groan as the leash around their legs tightened even further, pushing their bodies impossibly close.

“Shii-ooot, that’s cold,” Lexa said breathlessly as their fronts plastered together. “That’s really effing cold.”

“You think?” Clarke laughed, grabbing on to Lexa’s hips to try and steady her.

Clarke couldn’t help but be slightly amused at the way Lexa’s eyes kept going back down to her t-shirt - a t-shirt that Clarke was well aware was becoming more and more see-through by the second. Lexa pulled her bottom lip between her teeth when Clarke’s hands involuntarily tightened her grip on Lexa’s hips ever so slightly, making Clarke do the same as she studied Lexa’s eyes that had seemingly become enthralled with the way Clarke’s chest moved up and down with each breath she took.

“Hey, are you alright?” a voice called out behind her, and as she twisted to see who had come out of the coffee shop she heard Lexa call out for her to stop, but it was too late. Clarke had set them completely off balance, and not a second later Clarke’s back came into contact with the hard pavement.

Lexa barely managed to brace herself, and landed almost directly on top of Clarke, making both of them let out a loud “oomph” as their bodies once again collided with more force than was strictly healthy.

“Fuck,” Clarke muttered into Lexa’s hair as she tried to catch her breath. “Are you alright?

“Yeah,” Lexa nodded, but Clarke noticed the wince she made when she tried to pull back, supporting her weight on her good arm – the other thankfully still strapped securely to her chest in its sling.

“Raven could you…” Clarke motioned to the leash that was still tangled in their legs. “We’re kind of stuck here.”

“Here let me,” the voice from before said, and Clarke looked up to see the barista with the grey blazer rush towards them and bend down to try and help untangle the two women. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault,” Clarke tried to assure her.

“Here let me just take your…” Raven started but stopped, and Clarke turned to look at her. She was looking at Lexa’s dog as if it had two heads. “wolf?”

“Malamute,” Lexa mumbled, still a little winded by the whole thing.

“What?” Clarke asked, looking back up at Lexa.

“He’s a malamute,” Lexa explained, nodding her head towards Logan who Raven had unclipped from his leash, and was now holding onto by his collar. Her dog the picture of innocence as he looked at Lexa with a happy expression and a wagging tail.

It took the barista a minute to figure out how to untangle the two, but when Clarke finally felt the snaring leash let go of her leg she breathed out a sigh of relief and Lexa rolled off her and into a sitting position, obviously still trying to catch her breath.

“Why’re you always getting me into trouble, boy?” Lexa asked, but ruffled his coat affectionately before looking back at Clarke. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, no, I’m good,” Clarke said quickly, and took the hand the barista was offering, pulling her to her feet.

“You’re bleeding a little bit,” the woman next to her commented. “I think I have a first aid kit somewhere in the back if you come back inside?”

“Shit, Clarke, I’m so, so sorry, I really didn’t mean to,” Lexa started rambling when she too noticed the blood that was starting to drip down Clarke’s elbow. It was a minor scrape, and nothing to worry about, really. Clarke knew it looked much worse than it was. She’d get it cleaned up and taken care of as soon as she got back to her apartment.

Lexa struggled to get to her feet, being slightly handicapped by having one arm strapped to her chest, and Clarke reached out to help her, but Lexa was back on her feet before she’d even registered Clarke’s hand. She was by Clarke’s side in an instant, carefully gripping onto the arm the barista was also holding onto – the whole situation suddenly slightly awkward.

Clarke sent Raven a murderous glare when she heard her snicker.

“It’s fine, really,” Clarke tried to assure the two women fussing over her. “It’s just a scrape. I’ll live I promise.”

“Why don’t you come back inside and I’ll take a look?” the barista tried again. “We’ll have you as good as new and back on the street in a matter of minutes, I promise. I think I have a spare shirt, too.”

At that Clarke blushed and stole a glance at Lexa whose cheeks were suddenly redder than they had been seconds before.

“Umm,” Clarke said, “I…”

Clarke really didn’t know what to say, and she honestly wouldn’t have been too upset if the earth had opened up and swallowed her whole in that very instant. Anything to get out of the bizarre situation she suddenly found herself in.

Lexa let go of Clarke’s arm and nodded curtly as she took a step back, clearing her throat, her eyes flickering between Clarke and the barista. “You should let her clean it.”

There was a slight edge to her voice that Clarke hadn’t heard before, and the way the muscles in her jaw tightened made Clarke’s heart constrict in an almost painful way.

“Actually, Clarke should probably take a look at you, Lexa,” Raven said, stepping closer to the trio, one finger still hooked in Logan’s collar. “Her apartment is just down the street, and I’d offer to come help, but I really need to get going. Do you think you got it from here, Griff?”

It was as if Raven’s words triggered something in Clarke and she turned to look at Lexa with dangerously narrowed eyes. “What exactly happened to ‘I’ll do whatever you say, Clarke’? I’m pretty sure those were you exact words, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m relatively sure I asked you to go home and take it easy? This is not taking it easy, Lexa!”

“I’m taking it easy,” Lexa tried to protest; taking a step back for every step Clarke took towards her. When the back of Lexa’s legs bumped into Logan she stopped and swallowed hard. Clarke was almost nose-to-nose with her.

“I meant bed rest, Lexa! I told Octavia that you weren’t allowed to leave the apartment this weekend. Where the hell even is she?? Her and Lincoln were supposed to watch you! You are staying with them, _right_?” The tone of Clarke’s voice made it very clear that anything but a yes was a completely unacceptable answer.

Lexa nodded.

“Good.” Clarke looked at Raven. “Do you mind calling Octavia and letting her know that I’m taking Lexa back to our place? I’ll drive her home later. Lord knows I can’t trust those two buffoons to do anything right. They had _one_ job. _One_.”

“Clarke, really, I’m fine,” Lexa tried to protest, looking back and forth between Raven and Clarke. “My shoulder doesn’t feel any worse than it did this morning.”

“No,” Clarke said, looking pointedly at Lexa. “You don’t get a say in this. I’ve not spent my first weekend off in ages doing research on your case for you to risk it all by wandering about unsupervised.”

“ _Unsupervised_?” This time Lexa actually looked mildly offended. “And your idea of supervision was trusting my care to a pair of love-struck turtledoves? Do you have any idea what I’ve had to suffer through for the past two nights? Octavia is not exactly quiet!”

Lexa and Clarke’s noses were practically flaring as they stared each other down, but Raven’s laughter broke their focus, and they both turned to look at the woman who was doing her best to hide her laughter behind her hand as she looked back and forth between Clarke and Lexa. Clarke softened slightly. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t really thought that one through.

“Oh, this is gonna be so good.” The mirth in Raven’s eyes instantly made Clarke uneasy - like a dog with a goddamn bone. Clarke just knew what Raven was thinking.

“Raven,” Clarke warned lowly.

“Clarke,” Raven mocked, as she handed Logan’s leash over to the blonde. “I trust that you’ll escort Miss Woods safely back to her apartment once you’ve made sure she hasn’t agitated her shoulder? Cause as… _informational_ …as this had been I really should get going.”

Clarke wanted to punch her. Hard. She didn’t even care if a broken finger would have her out of the operating room for a least a month. She really wanted to punch her if that would wipe that silly smirk off her friend’s face.

“Miss…” Raven paused, looking at the barista who was looking somewhat perturbed by the whole situation.

“Niylah,” the woman said, stealing a glance at Clarke before giving Raven an awkward wave. “Niylah is just fine.”

“Niylah,” Raven echoed, and at that point Clarke was starting to consider sending Raven smoke signals telling her to stop, because clearly telepathy wasn’t a real thing, or Raven would surely would have withered under some of the thoughts Clarke was sending her way. She was dead meat the next time Clarke got her hands on her. That was for damn sure.  
“Woods, Griffin, I’ll see you two sometime next week. Make sure to stay on your feet, yeah? - Both of you. Cause this was strike one, Griffin.” Raven said, looking intently at Clarke, and Clarke knew that despite her teasing words, she was deadly serious about that part. When it came to her job Raven was always as serious as could be, so Clarke took it to heart when Raven fixed her with a stern gaze and repeated her words. “Strike one.”

“Got it.” Clarke nodded.

“Alright,” Raven gave the three other women a quick smiled, ruffled Logan’s head gently before she headed down the street, having parked a little further down the road.

It wasn’t until she was out of sight that someone, Niylah, cleared her throat. “You forgot this inside,” she said and handed Clarke a book, before holding out a box as well. “And…umm…well… here.”

Clarke took the little white box Niylah was offering her, and blushed furiously when she noticed the number scribbled on the side of it.

Clarke didn’t even dare look in Lexa’s direction.

“Just in case you ever wanted to grab a coffee or something,” Niylah said, biting her lower lip. She motioned with her head towards the coffee shop behind them. “I should go back in. It’s gets a little crazy around lunchtime, but it was nice to finally get a chance to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Clarke said, genuinely touched by the sweet gesture, causing the other blonde to nod and give a Clarke a lopsided smile.

“I hope I’ll see you around then, Clarke,” Niylah said, reaching out to give Clarke’s forearm a quick squeeze.

Clarke didn’t say anything; she just nodded and stole another glance at the box clutched tightly in her hand, as Niylah made her way back inside.  
When Clarke turned back around she noticed Lexa had taken a few steps back, and she had her eyes trained on her white low top Converse that were nosing at the pavement. Her free hand was buried in her pocket. She looked up and gave Clarke a half-hearted smile, before reaching out to take Logan’s leash without saying anything. Clarke was quick to stop her.

“I got him,” Clarke assured her, pulling the leash out of Lexa’s reach. “But could you take this?”

Lexa eyes widened as Clarke handed her the box and started walking down the street, motioning with her head for Lexa to follow. It took a few seconds for Lexa’s brain to catch up to the fact that Clarke was actually moving and Lexa had to half jog for a few seconds to fully catch up once she got her legs moving.

Clarke eyed Lexa when she fell into stride next to her. She couldn’t help but smile when Lexa’s brows winkled as she stared at the box in her hand. She was almost looking at it as if it had offended her.

“Seems like you’ve got an admirer,” Lexa said after a few beats of silence, and Clarke almost snorted at Lexa’s attempt at sounding nonchalant.

“Seems like it,” Clarke agreed.

“You gonna call her?” Lexa asked, and Clarke stopped to look at her, slowly raising one eyebrow, making Lexa backtrack. “Not that it’s any of my business or anything. I mean you’re my doctor and…wow, I’m sorry…that was just _so_ inappropriate of me to ask…”

“Lexa,” Clarke laughed. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to ask me questions. Please just take a deep breath for me. If you keep going at this rate you’re going to give yourself a heart attack.”

Lexa blushed. “I’m sorry. This is just so not my day. The two turtledoves woke me up this morning and I just couldn’t take it anymore and I had to get out…and then…well…” Lexa’s hand motioned between them, the dirtied t-shirts and Clarke’s bloodied elbow. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Clarke said, taking a step closer to Lexa, while wrapping Logan’s leash around her own wrist. “Let’s see what she got us, shall we?”

Clarke smiled reassuringly at Lexa who looked a little uncomfortable when she opened the box. Inside was one of those delicious chocolate chip muffins she would always get whenever she came to the coffee shop.

“These are so good,” Clarke told Lexa and broke off a piece. “You have to try it.”

Lexa blushed when Clarke brought it up to her lips expectantly. Their eyes met and for a short moment the air felt electric. Clearly, Clarke hadn’t really thought this through and once again she mentally scolded herself for being an idiot, but when Lexa carefully wrapped her lips around her fingers all thoughts vanished from her mind and mainline explosion started making their way up her spine. Okay, so maybe she was a genius – people had always told her the line between madness and genius was a fine one.

It certainly felt like a stroke of pure genius when the tip of Lexa’s tongue brushed against her fingertips.

She was so caught up in the moment that she didn’t even hear the loud bark from the dog on the other end of the leash that was wrapped tightly around her wrist. In fact, she didn’t register anything until Logan took off down the street at break-neck speed, dragging a stunned Clarke with him.

                                                                                                                              ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are no excuses, besides the fact that I’ve been an idiot who didn’t take a backup of her files, as some of you may have heard, but I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I promise I’ll post the chapters as I find the time to rewrite them.
> 
> If anyone wants to come say hi or talk about the characters then please feel free to do so. Don’t really know anyone beside myself who ships Clexa lol 
> 
> http://my-northern-hemisphere.tumblr.com


	3. Okay. Okay? Okay.

”We should probably help them, shouldn’t we?” Raven mused, eyeing Lexa and an unfamiliar blonde who were standing in front of the vending machine, trying to figure out a way to get their bag of M&M’s unstuck.

“Probably,” Clarke agreed, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice, as the blonde banged her fist against the Plexiglas of the machine for the fourth time. The snack didn’t move so much as an inch, much to the woman’s obvious frustration, and Clarke and Raven’s delight, who both chuckled quietly. It had been a good five minutes since they stumbled across the two women, and, really, they would have stepped in to offer their help if the whole thing hadn’t been so amusing, and if the scowl on Lexa’s face hadn’t been so endearing.

They weren’t the first to fall victims to the vending machine in the physical therapy wing; in fact, they weren’t even the first that day. It claimed its victims regularly, hourly even, on a busy day.

“You two are horrible people.”

Clarke and Raven simply nodded. They were.

“For how long have you been standing here?” Octavia asked, and Clarke glanced at her. She had that look on her face she normally got whenever one of her patients went against her advice, or whenever she was severely unimpressed by Clarke or Raven’s decisions – lips pursed, one eyebrow lifted and arms crossed.

“A while,” Raven admitted with a shrug, not one to cower in the face of Octavia’s glare. Years of friendship had made her fairly immune.

“And helping them didn’t seem like the right choice?” Octavia asked slightly incredulously, motioning towards Lexa and the mystery blonde.

“We were thinking about it if that makes a difference?” Clarke offered, trying her best to sound as genuine as possible, but when Lexa shoved the machine with a good arm Clarke was unable to hide her smile and Octavia rolled her eyes.

“You two are something else,” Octavia sighed, side-eying her friends, before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Coming from the girl who can’t keep her pants on despite the fact that her boyfriend’s sister is sleeping in the room across the hall? The very same sister the two of you were supposed to keep an eye on this weekend?” Raven said, looking pointedly at Octavia. “Yeah, I think me and my conscious will live.”

“How’d…how’d you…” Octavia stuttered, nearly choking on her coffee, looking back and forth between Lexa and Raven, a sudden blush coloring her cheeks.

“Know?” Raven finished for her, smirking when Octavia nodded her head.

“Apparently, you aren’t exactly quiet. Pretty sure those were Lexa’s exact words.” Raven looked far too pleased with herself when she looked to Clarke for confirmation.

“She called you and Lincoln love-struck turtledoves,” Clarke added with a smile, enjoying Octavia’s palpable discomfort. It was rare that something managed to get under Octavia’s skin, and Clarke was ready to milk every second of this while she had the chance.

“ _She did not_ ,” Octavia said, eyes widening in horror as they once again darted to Lexa who still had her back turned towards them. “ _Please_ , tell me you’re just messing me with. Lincoln’s baby sister did not hear us have sex.”

“Oh, but she did,” Clarke confirmed. “The poor girl _suffered_. Reyes, wasn’t suffered the word Lexa used?”

“She said suffer,” Raven was quick to confirm gleefully. “Must have been traumatic for her.”

“Shut up,” Octavia grumbled, still looking somewhat mortified by the whole thing. “It’s not like sharing a wall with you back in college was a joy.”

“Neither was sharing one with your brother,” Clarke commented, scrunching her nose as a few particular unwelcomed memories made their way to the forefront of her mind. Like walking in on Bellamy and his then girlfriend having sex on their dining room table after a long shift at work; his pale, bare ass on full display, or even worse - that girl he had dated for a couple of months during their third year who sounded like a dying seagull whenever they had sex. Clarke was pretty sure she’d earned every single scout badge there was for being an exemplary roommate during that time – she’d mentally been polishing her halo on some of those nights to keep from barging across the hall, banging on his door, demanding that they’d stop in the name of all that was holy. It was safe to say it’d been an excruciating three months of her life.

Both Raven and Octavia looked at her with disgusted looks, as if they were able to read her mind, before Octavia finally cleared her throat. “And on that note this conversation is officially over.”

“Agreed,” Raven said, looking at her coffee cup as if its content had gone sour in the matter of the last two minutes. With a sigh she dumped the rest of it into a nearby bin. “Clarke, go save your crush. I’m gonna go set up our room. Bring her in in five, yeah?”

“Raven, it’s not a crush,” Clarke protested, but Raven was already walking away, so she turned to look at Octavia. “It’s not a crush.”

“Denial has never looked good on you, Griffin.”

“Oh, whatever.” Clarke shook her head. “You’re both children.”

Octavia snorted, when Clarke gave her a light shove as she walked past her.

Okay, so maybe Clarke had a tiny crush on the pretty snowboarder, but who could blame her? Lexa was funny and kind, and really easy to talk to. And, yeah, Clarke had most definitely noticed that she was pretty; too, even now where she was standing in the waiting room in a pair of black slim fit sweatpants, a green, plaid, button up flannel shirt and her hair thrown up into a messy bun she looked like the epitome of effortless beauty.

“You know, when I said stay home and rest I didn’t mean get into altercations with vending machines either. It seems like your hearing is a little selective, Miss Woods,” Clarke said, when she was standing directly behind Lexa and the blonde, both unaware of her presence.

Lexa jumped at the sound of Clarke’s voice, quickly turning around to face her.

“It’s holding my M&Ms hostage,” Lexa muttered, pointing to the bag that was still stuck halfway down, while looking a little sheepish at having been caught.

“I can see that,” Clarke chuckled, moving around Lexa and the blonde to stand next to the machine. She stole a quick glance towards the nurse station that was thankfully empty at the moment. “I’m about to show you something that you can’t show anyone else or you’ll get me in trouble, okay?”

Lexa nodded and the blonde rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“See the trick is that you need to put your shoulder into it,” Clarke disclosed, patting the machine as if they were old friends, which wasn’t far from the truth given how many times Clarke and Raven had been able to score snacks from the very trick she was about to show Lexa. “But the thing is that you need to do it from the right side. If you do it from the left you’ll get nowhere. It has to be from the right.”

“If this works I’m gonna be so pissed,” the blonde mumbled, making Clarke grin.

Clarke winked at Lexa before she gave the vending machine a hard shove with her shoulder.

“Oh, come on!” the woman next to Lexa exclaimed as the bag of M&Ms quickly dropped into the tray at the bottom, a Snickers bar following by accident. “What kind of sorcery is that?”

“ ’fraid I can’t say, or the nurses will kill me,” Clarke said innocently as she bent down to pick up their snacks.

She handed Lexa her bag of M&Ms and gave the other woman the Snickers. “Consolation prize,” Clarke said, trying her very hardest not to smile too wide at the scowl on the other woman’s face as she eyed the Snickers. Clearly she did not find the whole thing nearly as amusing as Clarke did, but she took the bar anyway.

“You must be doctor Griffin,” the blonde noted, as she unwrapped her chocolate bar, looking to Lexa, who gave a quick nod. “I’m Anya Yates.”

“My best friend slash manager,” Lexa supplied helpfully, when Clarke extended her hand to shake Anya’s. “Anya is just here to work out some details with Raven if this whole thing works out. I hope that’s alright?”

Clarke shrugged, letting go of Anya’s hand, before putting both hands in the pockets of her lab-coat, rocking back and forth on her heels a little bit. “Fine by me. I’m really not the biggest part of this equation to be honest, so it’s Raven you’ll need to take it up with, but I can’t see why she’d have any objections.”

At that both Lexa and Anya raised their eyebrows, so Clarke tacked on. “I’m an orthopedic surgeon, so unless something goes terribly wrong and you find yourself under my scalpel you’ll mostly be dealing with Raven from here on out.”

“Oh,” Lexa said, brows furrowing a little, and if Clarke wasn’t much mistaken it almost looked as if, for a split second, Lexa had been disappointed, but the brunette was quick to school her features and she gave Clarke a lopsided smile. “Guess that makes sense.”

Clarke nodded slowly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Clarke wasn’t blind, and a small part of her was fairly certain that Lexa wasn’t completely unaffected by her presence. What that meant Clarke wasn’t sure of, however.

“I’ll be around for consults, though, if Raven thinks it’ll be necessary, ” Clarke said, before stealing a glance at her watch. “And speaking of…she should be ready for us by now. Pretty sure your brother’s new squeeze stuck around, too.”

“Octavia’s here?” Lexa asked, as she fiddled with her bag of M&Ms, trying to get it open. “She didn’t say anything to me about it this morning?”

“Her schedule can be a little unpredictable.” Clarke said, as they walked towards the room where Raven and Octavia were waiting. Clarke eyed Lexa as she put the bag between her chest and sling, to better free up her good hand, in another attempt to rip off the top. “I don’t know how much you know about her yet, but she’s got a heart of gold that one. It’s not every day that a general surgeon decides to move her schedule around, so she can sit in on a meeting that technically has nothing to do with her, if you know what I’m saying?”

“Is this a part of that ‘ hurt my best friend, and I’ll hurt your face’ speech you told me about when we first met?” Lexa chuckled, looking down at her bag triumphantly when she managed to rip a small hole in the corner.

Clarke laughed. “I’m surprised you even remember that. You were pretty drugged up.”

“Whatever was in that IV bag was pretty effective,” Lexa agreed, sticking a finger through the hole to try and dig out one of the M&Ms. “I remember most of what happened, though.”

This time Clarke was definitely not hallucinating when she noticed the blush spreading across Lexa’s neck. Interesting.

“Octavia said to give you the star treatment, so…” Clarke trialed off, stealing a second to study Lexa, who was most definitely not meeting Clarke’s eyes on purpose – no bag of M&Ms was _that_ interesting.

“My brother snagged a good one, huh?” Lexa’s words weren’t so much a question as they were a statement, and Clarke nodded. Yeah, Octavia was definitely a ‘good one’ as Lexa had put it - one of the best, really. Clarke could only hope that Lincoln deserved her.

“Do you want one?” Lexa asked after a beat of silence, head motioning towards her M&Ms.

“Is that your way of asking me to open it for you?” Clarke countered teasingly, but reached out for the bag nonetheless.

“No,” Lexa was quick to rebut. “I’m not Joey. I share my food.”

“She really doesn’t,” Anya commented, earning a deathly glare from Lexa and a chuckle from Clarke as she ripped the top off and stuck it in her pocket. “Just try to steer clear of the brown and green ones, cause they’re her favorite.”

“Anya!” Lexa hissed.

“What?” Anya asked around a mouthful of Snickers, doing her best to cover her mouth with her hand. “It’s the truth.”

“It’s alright,” Clarke chuckled, rummaging through the bag quickly, before pulling out a blue one. “I like the blue ones best, anyway. Disaster avoided.”

“It’s really not a big deal,” Lexa sighed, rolling her eyes, but the blush on her cheeks told Clarke otherwise. Clearly, it was a big deal – or at least some kind of deal, and Clarke found herself happy to humor Lexa’s little quirk.

“I’m pretty sure Nate doesn’t agree with that.” If looks could kill Clarke was sure Anya would be teen feet under by now.

“I was dru…”

“Sure you were, Lex,” Anya said, before Lexa even had a chance to finish her sentence.

“Alright, you two, you ready?” Clarke asked, interrupting their pair, who both turned to look at her, quarrel temporarily forgotten, but Clarke didn’t give them a chance to respond. She simply twisted the doorknob and held the door open for them. “Go on, she doesn’t bite.”

“Not unless you ask,” Raven said, standing up from the chair she was sitting in in front of her computer.

Both Lexa and Anya chuckled.

“Lexa, hey,” Raven said with a big smile, pulling the other brunette into a brief hug. “How’s the arm?”

“Still attached thanks to this bad-boy and doctor Griffin,” Lexa answered, patting the sling her arm was resting in. She motioned her head towards Anya. “Raven, this is Anya Yates. She’s my manager.”

Raven politely extended her hand to Anya. “I was wondering when someone official was gonna show up. You all have to admit that this whole thing is a little unorthodox.”

“Unorthodox?” Anya asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Raven said with a shrug, letting go of Anya’s hand. “She’s an Olympian. Isn’t there like a whole team of doctors, trainers and physical therapists up in Colorado Springs itching to get their hands on her? Or at least a long row of sponsors wanting to have some kind of say in her recovery?”

The room fell silent for a few seconds, and for the first time since Clarke had met Anya even she looked a little uncomfortable suddenly looking to Lexa for guidance. Clarke was aware that she didn’t know Anya at all, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that there was something off if Anya was clamping up.

“Thought so,” Raven said knowingly, pointing towards the exam table. “Lexa, why don’t you take a seat?”

Clarke walked over to Octavia, leaning against the windowsill, as she observed quietly.

“Lexa, do you mind taking off your shirt and lying down?” Raven asked, her voice portraying nothing but utter professionalism.

Clarke on the other hand was fairly certain that heat rising to her cheeks at the prospect of seeing Lexa shirtless for a third time was anything but professional. Clarke could still vividly picture Lexa sitting shirtless at her kitchen counter a few days ago. She’d been so tense as Clarke examined her shoulder gently, while reminding herself that if she ever wanted to see Lexa without a top on ever again she would have to remember how to breathe or this would be the very last time, and Clarke wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. She’d most definitely like to see Lexa topless again.

Clarke inwardly sighed at the thought - so much for professionalism and medical oaths.

“So, who’s gonna tell me why you’re lying on my table? Don’t get me wrong, I’m brilliant, but you _should_ be in Colorado Springs, Lexa. I think we can both agree on that much,” Raven stated bluntly, as she took Lexa shirt from her hands and handed it to Anya.

Yup, Clarke was well and truly going to hell for her lack of professionalism right now. Lexa’s abs was on full display, and Clarke was powerless to do anything but stare. Not even the tense atmosphere in the room was enough to put a tent in Clarke’s appreciation for Lexa’s workout regime.

“Family support,” Anya said, but through the fog that was currently clouding Clarke’s brain, cause, really, _wow_ , even Clarke could hear that wasn’t the truth, or at least not the whole truth. “Lincoln is here and Lexa could stay with him and…”

Raven made a buzzing noise, as if she was a judge on America’s Got Talent. “Wrong answer. Try again.”

“We weren’t happy with their PTs the last time Lexa tore a ligament in her knee…”

“One more lie and I’m walking out of here,” Raven warned without looking at Anya, both eyes trained on Lexa’s face, studying her for any signs of pain, as she gently took a hold of her arm to test her range of motion, and the stability of her joint.

“Costia Sanders is my ex-girlfriend and also head of the physical therapy team at the US training facilities, and I’d hands down rather cut off my arm than let her handle my recovery,” Lexa managed to get out through a grimace as Raven moved her arm a little too high.

That confession managed to clear the fog from Clarke’s mind, and she looked to Octavia for confirmation, but her friend wasn’t looking at her. Instead she was fiddling with the stethoscope hanging around her neck, looking anywhere but at Clarke, which ultimately was all the answer Clarke needed.

Clarke sighed and shook her head.

Lexa wasn’t here, because she wanted their help. She was here because she didn’t want someone else’s – her _ex-girlfriend’s_ , to be more specific. Clarke didn’t like the way that small detail managed to tug at her heart, and judging by the look on Raven’s face it hadn’t gone down well with her either; perhaps for different reasons, though.

Raven took a step back from the exam table, crossing her arms. “So, you’re putting my reputation on the line, because you don’t want to face your ex-girlfriend?”

“No, I…It’s not like that,” Lexa said. “Really, it’s not.”

“You have exactly one minute to explain what it is like then, because from where I’m standing it sounds like you’re gambling with my career because of unresolved feelings for your ex-girlfriend, and, to be quite frank, I don’t want any part of that, and I’m pretty sure Clarke doesn’t either,” Raven said, and while Clarke knew that Raven was usually more bark than bite Lexa clearly didn’t.

At the mention of Clarke’s name Lexa’s eyes shot towards her, and Clarke couldn’t help but notice the way the muscles in her jaw twitched, or the way Lexa’s eyes searched Clarke’s intently, but for what she didn’t know.

“It’s not like that at all. I don’t have any feelings for Costia…believe me. I just…” Lexa ran a hand through her hair, looking a little lost for words, and a little lost in general. “Who really wants to work that closely with their ex for months on end?”

Clarke had to admit that was an acceptable answer- it wasn’t enough – but it was understandable. If she had been in Lexa’s shoes there was no way she would have let Finn handle her physical care, so she took a step towards the table where Lexa was sitting, stopping next to Raven.

“Lexa, if you end up under my scalpel it could be the end of your career, and for an orthopedic surgeon it doesn’t exactly look great on your resume to have been the one to end the career of one of the most popular female snowboarders in US history,” Clarke said calmly.

While Clarke tried her best to maintain a level head, Clarke could easily feel the tension radiating off the brunette standing next to her, irritation practically pouring out of every pore in her friend’s body, and Clarke knew that Raven was seriously deliberating walking out of the room, and never looking back.

At this point Clarke wouldn’t be able to hold it against her, or blame her even in the slightest. Despite Clarke’s collected demeanor Lexa was on shaky ground with both of them. There was more to life than pretty brunettes with piercing green eyes after all – like her career and her reputation that she’d worked more than half her life for.

Like her best friend and _her career_.

She needed a better reason than ‘ _I don’t want to deal with my ex_ ’ if she was going to be a part of this journey.

“Look guys.” Clarke almost startled at the sound of Octavia’s voice. She’d merely been a silent observer from the moment Lexa entered the room, aware that her relationship with Lincoln was a complication, and likely to make her more than a little subjective.

“Yes?” Raven pressed impatiently.

Octavia was looking at Lexa thoughtfully, bottom lip trapped between her teeth, mulling over her next words. She tapped her fingers gently against the windowsill a few times, before finally speaking. “I’ll vouch for her.”

Raven let out a loud bark of laughter, looking at Octavia as if she’d grown a second head before her very eyes, and when Octavia didn’t add to her statement, Raven’s eyes went wide “You cannot be serious? Is the sex really that good?”

It was potentially the least professional thing Clarke had ever heard Raven say.

“Raven,” Clarke hissed, mouth agape.

“What?” Raven said, and judging by the tone of her voice she was one hundred percent done with humoring this little endeavor. “This joke has got to end right now. The only reason the five us out are actually even considering this is because Octavia is sleeping with her brother, and you think Le…”

“Enough,” Clarke cut her off, eyes boring into Raven, daring her to finish that sentence. “If you don’t want to be a part of this then that’s fine, but there’s no reason to go that far, and you know it.”

Raven’s jaw ticked, her teeth grinding together as she looked back and forth between Clarke and Lexa, while stealing an occasionally glance at Octavia, who’d clamed up at Raven’s outburst. Lexa swallowed thickly under Raven’s scrutinizing eyes, and Clarke could only imagine how uncomfortable this situation was for the brunette sitting stoically on Raven’s exam table, while she awaited the verdict.

Clarke’s fingers itched, and it took everything in her to not reach out to place a reassuring hand on Lexa’s shoulder. Or cheek, or well, anywhere the brunette would let her touch her really.

“I think there’s one thing you’re forgetting,” Anya said, placing a hand on Lexa’s good shoulder as if she could read Clarke’s mind. She watched Anya gently squeeze the naked skin beneath her fingers, which only made the itch in Clarke’s fingertips worse.

“Do enlighten me.”

Clarke sighed at the tone of Raven’s voice.

“We get that this is a little ‘ _unorthodox_ ’ as you so eloquently put it.” At this point Clarke was silently counting down backwards from ten to stop herself from speaking up. Anya’s tone was just as annoyed as Raven’s had been seconds before, and it was not helping anything.

The room was so tense that Clarke was practically chocking on the palpable tension smothering them like a thick fog.

“Have you ever given any real thought to the doors something like this could open for you?” Raven didn’t answer and Clarke knew that Anya wasn’t blind to the opening it presented, and she almost smiled when Anya pressed on, clearly picking up on the fact that a silent Raven was a positive thing right now. “You and I both know what kind of media attention someone like Lexa attracts when she’s in season, and if you manage to pull this off? If you manage to get Lexa ready for the qualifiers… forgive me, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’ll have every professional sports team knocking on your door, contract in hand, just waiting for you to sign on the dotted line.”

The silences stretched on for far longer than Clarke was comfortable with, and she started mentally running through a list of a few good physical therapists that she knew back home in Brooklyn that she could possibly put Lexa in touch with.

They weren’t Raven Reyes, but then again, no one was.

Raven blew out a puff of air, and Clarke’s breath caught in her throat when she saw Raven give Anya an almost imperceptible nod.

“Okay,” Raven said quietly.

“Okay?” This time Clarke couldn’t stop herself from smiling fondly at the sound of utter disbelief and relief in Lexa’s voice. She turned to Octavia, and gave her friend a wink, receiving a satisfied little nod in return.

“Okay.” Raven said resolutely, eyes closed, as if she was already regretting agreeing to this, so she missed the set of collective smiles on the lips of the women around her.

Lexa was up and off the table in a matter of a split second, throwing her arm around a stunned Raven, and pulling her into a bruising hug.

“You better not let me down, kid,” Raven mumbled, but softened up and returned Lexa’s hug.

“You won’t be sorry, Raven,” Lexa assured the taller brunette, her smile wider and brighter than Clarke had ever seen it. “I’m worth it. I promise.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been around the block before with blockage just like you, and you’re not exactly a dream come true,” Raven sighed, pushing the other brunette back just enough to look her up and down, taking in every inch of her frame. She seized Lexa by her upper arm, shaking her head in disappointment. “Why do I always get the beanstalks?”

Lexa’s bicep flexed in response, and Clarke really, really couldn’t be blamed for the fluttering in her stomach. While Raven clearly wasn’t overly impressed by what she saw, Clarke was more than happy with Lexa’s physical form.

“I can bulk up,” Lexa promised quickly. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

Raven rolled her eyes, and pushed Lexa to sit back down on the exam table, before pulling up a rolling stool to sit down in front of her. “Now where have I heard that one before?”

Both Lexa and Clarke chuckled when their eyes met.

“At least you’re not a greenhorn,” Raven acknowledged somewhat reluctantly, scratching the back of her neck.

“She’s an Olympian,” Anya noted.

“Whoop-de-do, ” Raven muttered mockingly, before placing her hand against Lexa’s sternum, gently guiding Lexa to straight her spine, effectively correcting her posture. “You’re right handed, aren’t you?”

“Umm, yeah?” Lexa said.

Raven nodded her head thoughtfully. “It shows. The muscles in your right side are far more prominent, and while that’s fairly normal we’ll need to work on filling out your frame a little bit. Add a few pounds of muscles to that girly frame of yours.”

Everyone snorted at that. While Lexa’s body was feminine, it also looked like the Greek Gods themselves could have sculpted it.

“Whatever you want, Reyes,” Lexa said good-humoredly, a little, pleased smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“I hope you know what you’re signing up for, Woods. The odds are not in our favor, and I will not end up a mockery,” Raven said, leaning back on her stool, crossing her arms. “Both of our dreams are on you now. You ready for that kind of pressure?”

“Born ready,” Lexa replied confidently.

Raven groaned, and Clarke knew Lexa’s tone was too confident, and too cocky for Raven’s liking, and there wasn’t a doubt in Clarke’s mind that Raven was going to knock an inch or two off Lexa before building her back up.

“There goes my ulcer,” Raven said, looking pointedly at Clarke as if this whole thing was her fault.

“As long as you keep her out of my OR what’s the worst that can happen, Rey?” Clarke asked sweetly.

“Don’t ‘Rey’ me,” Raven said, wagging her finger at Clarke. “I trust that you’ll be around to keep her on the straight and narrow, too.”

“I’ll make sure to keep an eye on her,” Clarke promised, doing her very best to keep her voice as professional as possible, and not give away what kind of images were running through her mind. Keeping an eye on Lexa Clarke could _most definitely_ do. In fact, she was already starting to consider herself quite an expert at it.

She made a mental note to discuss that issue with Raven later – they should probably iron out the details of what exactly Raven meant by ‘straight and narrow’, because Clarke was pretty sure she saw loopholes were there were meant to be none, and for everyone’s sake Clarke knew she had to be an adult and actually discuss her attraction to Lexa properly with Raven at some point.

Lines would have to be drawn. She knew that.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost missed what Raven was telling Lexa and Anya, until she heard her name and something that sounded an awful lot like the word dinner coming out of Raven’s mouth.

“Excuse me?” Clarke said. “Dinner where?”

“At your place,” Raven repeated. “At 7? Are you even listening?”

“Sorry, I must have spaced out for a second,” Clarke admitted, before looking at Lexa and Anya. “So, you guys are coming over for dinner?”

“Only if that’s alright with you?” Lexa said quickly, an endearing trace of uncertainty to her voice; as if there was actually a risk that Clarke wouldn’t want them at her place, despite the fact that Lexa had literally been sitting in her living room mere days ago.

Raven’s pretend cough wasn’t even subtle, and Clarke glared at her. The string of words she muttered under her breath sounded an awful lot like ‘it’s a crush’.

Instead of giving Raven the satisfaction of a comeback she settled for smiling at Lexa and Anya. “7 sounds great.”

“Awesome,” Raven chuckled. One day Clarke would make good on that punch she was always mentally thinking about. She really would. “Now everyone out. I’d like a few moments alone with our little superstar before I let her go for today.”

Raven smirked, and Clarke glared back as she made her way out of Raven’s room with Octavia and Anya.

‘I’ll kill you’ Clarke mouthed as she slipped through the door.

Raven threw her head back and laughed. Lexa looked lost.

                                                                                                                  ***

“You’re acting like this is some kind of first date,” Raven chuckled, leaning against the fridge as Clarke chopped another cucumber into sticks. “It’s past 6 and you’re not in your pajamas, you’ve done your hair, I’m pretty sure that’s makeup I spy, too, and there are candles lit in the living room despite the fact that they’re only coming over for pizza.”

Raven was ticking off her fingers as she went, and Clarke wanted to chop them off. Her knife was sharp enough.

Instead Clarke bit her own tongue to keep from speaking. Hard.

“You really like her, don’t you?” Raven asked, her voice a little less teasing, and a little more sincere.

“She seems nice, yeah,” Clarke admitted vaguely.

“ _Nice_.” Raven mused, smiling so smugly Clarke almost couldn’t stand it. This whole dinner thing was starting to seem like a very bad idea. “Since when do you go to this much trouble for _nice_?”

“Since now, apparently,” Clarke sighed. “Are you going somewhere with this or do you just enjoy seeing me suffer?”

Raven plucked a stick of cucumber from the tray with carrots and dip. “You know we’ll have to talk about this eventually.”

“Eventually,” Clarke agreed. “Right now is not that time, though.”

“So there is something to talk about?” Clarke wondered why Raven bothered to ask. She knew her well enough, and Clarke was pretty sure that she hadn’t been subtle, so Raven had to know that – _yes_ \- there was something to talk about. “ _Interesting_.”

“She’s nice, Raven. She’s really, _really_ nice, okay? She’s very _nice_ ,” Clarke said, putting the knife down, and wiping her hands on the towel lying next to the sink, before taking a swig of her beer.

To dull her irritation or her nerves she didn’t know - probably a bit of both.

Raven held up her hands. “Lexa’s very nice. Got it.”

Clarke was just about to make another comment when the doorbell rang. “That’s probably them.”

“I’ll get it.”

Clarke nodded, leaning back against the counter, beer still firmly clutched in her hand. The yellow label of Clarke’s Shiner was slightly torn from her fiddling. Fiddling and picking at stuff was a nervous habit she’d yet to shake despite having tried for the better part of two decades. The radio was playing quietly in their kitchen, and Clarke decided to reach out and turn up the volume just a bit to try and down out her thoughts.

Thoughts of a certain green-eyed brunette who was probably stepping through her door right this very second. The mere thought was enough to make Clarke start picking at the label again. Clarke was nervous. Lexa made her nervous and Clarke hadn’t been nervous in a very long time.

With a herculean effort she turned back to the tray with vegetables and started arranging them in a presentable manner –small bowls of dip standing in between. Clarke didn’t know what kind of dip Lexa liked, so she’d made a few. She wasn’t even going to pretend it was for Anya or Lincoln’s sake.

She’d gone the extra mile for _nice_.

“So this is where you’re hiding.” It was Lexa’s voice.

“Hiding is a bit much,” Clarke chuckled nervously, motioning to the mess she’d made in the kitchen. “Someone had to do the dirty work.”

“Looks great,” Lexa commented, leaning against the doorframe. “You need my help with anything?”

It was a sweet offer, but Clarke couldn’t help but chuckle and look pointedly at Lexa’s sling. Handing Lexa a knife when she only had one good hand was probably not good kitchen etiquette.

“I can carry stuff, or dry stuff,” Lexa offered, as if she’d read Clarke’s mind. “I’m not completely helpless.”

“How about you just keep me company?” Clarke asked, walking over to the fridge to grab another beer. She looked over her shoulder. Lexa had moved closer. “Beer alright?”

“It’s perfect.”

Clarke twisted the cap off both beers and handed one to Lexa. Lexa leaned her hip against the counter, taking a swig of her beer. “I should probably enjoy this while I can, shouldn’t I? Something tells me that Raven’s not gonna let me have a sip of anything alcoholic for a very, very long time.”

“You nervous?” Clarke asked, side-eying Lexa as she chopped the last cucumber.

Lexa shrugged, looking down at the beer in her hand. Clarke smiled when she, too, started picking at the label. “It’s the Olympics on the line, so, yeah, a little bit.”

“It’s a big deal. I get it,” Clarke said, drying her hands before gently reaching out to place her hand on Lexa’s upper arm like she’d wanted to earlier that day. She was in a t-shirt, and Clarke’s hand had landed just below the hem of her sleeve and she bit her lip at the feeling of Lexa’s warm skin beneath her fingertips.

Lexa’s brows furrowed, a thoughtful expression taking over her face, her eyes were lowered and she looked at Clarke through long, dark lashes. “Thank you, by the way. I don’t know if I’ve said that yet. But thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“I’m a doctor,” Clarke said as if it was nothing. As if she’d go to extreme lengths for every patient that landed himself or herself in her OR. She was a good doctor, but there was no denying she’d gone the extra mile for Lexa. She was still going the extra mile for the pretty girl standing in front of her, so the next words that came out of her mouth sounded an awful lot like a copout. “It’s what we do. We help people.”

Lexa nodded, and opened her mouth, but just as quickly closed it again. Her jaw ticked and Clarke just knew she was holding back. As if she was about to say something, but changed her mind. Instead she moved a little closer to Clarke.

Clarke _really_ needed to have that talk with Raven sooner rather than later.

A few familiar tunes filled the air, and Clarke took a step back from Lexa – the little furrow between her brows was back, as she watched Clarke fiddle with the radio.

_Tomorrow_. She would definitely have that chat with Raven first thing tomorrow.

Clarke opened a drawer and pulled out two wooden spoons. Lexa smiled when she realized what Clarke was doing.

“ _Just a small-town girl, living in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere_ ,” Clarke sang into her spoon, reaching the other one out for Lexa to take, but the brunette shook her head and took a few steps back until her back collided with the counter.

Clarke smiled and Lexa laughed. Clarke had her trapped.

“ _Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detriot, he took the midnight train going anywhere_ ,” Clarke continued as she moved closer to Lexa, her voice hitting the notes surprisingly well. She hooked a finger in one of the belt loops of Lexa’s jeans and tugged her closer.

Lexa followed easily, laughing when her front met Clarke’s.

“Sing with me,” Clarke tried asked again, her stomach swooping gently at Lexa’s blinding smile. Clarke held her spoon up to Lexa’s mouth one more time, and this time she leaned into it with a roll of her eyes.

“ _A singer in a smokey room, the smell of wine and cheap perfume, for a smile they can share the night. It goes on and one and one and on_ ,” Lexa sang, cheeks burning bright red as she voice cracked on a few high-notes.

Clarke laughed when Lexa’s forehead dropped to her shoulder, and she hid her face in Clarke’s neck in embarrassment. Clarke’s free hand came up to gently cup the back of Lexa’s neck and she gave her a reassuring squeeze.

So what if they missed the next few lines. Lexa’s breath was warm on her neck and Clarke’s heart was pounding harder than it hard been in a very long time. As a medical professional it should probably concern her.

“ _Playing anything to roll the dice just one more time_ ,” Clarke sang gently, and Lexa lifted her head at the sound, her smile was lazy and she looked oddly content.

“ _Some will win, some will lose, some are born to sing the blues_.” Clarke wasn’t sure if Lexa was whispering or singing at this point and she really didn’t care as long as she stayed close.

When the music was suddenly cut off and they sprang apart, they came face to face with four incredibly smug looking people – some more than others. Octavia, Anya and Raven all had their arms crossed, sharing knowing smiles, while Lincoln just looked a little perturbed as if he didn’t know what to make of the whole thing.

“So, umm,” Clarke cleared her throat, and motioned towards the food with her spoon. “Dinner’s ready.”

Clarke and Lexa blushed furiously, when the rest of the group laughed knowingly.

                                                                                                                       ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this chapter was worth the wait! =) Let me know what you guys think, please? Any advice or comment is always welcomed =)

**Author's Note:**

> Personally, I always like checking out peoples' Tumblrs if they post their link at the end of the story, so I thought I'd go ahead and post mine:http://my-northern-hemisphere.tumblr.com
> 
> Come say hi, or like a post and I'll check yours out! Especially if it's Clexa. I'd like to follow few more of those =)


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